Realization
by Kirstin-lo
Summary: Eiji is having a hard time expressing his feelings to his love interest, and isn't even sure if he really should, not knowing whether the other boy has feelings for him or not. [EijiOishi pairing]


**Author's Note:** Well, this is my first fic in a while. Originally, I had intended for this to only be a quick Oishi/Eiji drabble, but as I got into it, I decided to lengthen it. Chapters will be added. Eiji is pretty OOC in this chapter, I really do want to change that in the next one, though. Although, it'll be difficult since Eiji is a bit angsty so far. Also, I really don't know if I'll continue. I'm a generally shy person, and I don't like sharing things, so I'm surprised myself that I'm posting fics. Maybe if I get a review or two I'll be encouraged ; As I'd like to continue writing the next chapters.

Within the fic, I refer to eiji as younger, and oishi as older, which to my knowledge is correct. Even if it's only by a couple months.

**Disclaimer: **I only wish I owned any of these characters. I don't though. However, I do intend to get an Eiji plushie! Bwahaha.

**Current rating info:** at the moment, it's just a PG type rating. That should definitely change later on though, if I go through with adding more chapters.

For now, enjoy!

**Chapter One Kiss**

As of late, Eiji had developed a tendency to become distracted easily. Of course, it was caused by one thing in particular. The one thing in his life that he had considered least distracting. You could even say that it generally kept him calm and collect. So why now?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Eiji stood staring at Oishi from behind, watching as the tennis player moved across the court. They were in the middle of a practice match, against Inui and Kaidoh, but Eiji wasn't particularly interested in the game itself. He much preferred watching his doubles partner from the point of which he was currently standing, since this was one of the very few times he was the one standing behind him. Unfortunately, it had already costed them two games, and Oishi was becoming rather annoyed with the acrobatics player's performance.

Before practice had started, Inui suggested that the two boys switch places. "Since Kikumaru's performance with Momoshiro was exceptional, maybe you both would benefit from switching places for a while." Inui stated clearly, "incase the same thing happens again. It would be much easier if you were prepared for something like this."

So, there they were, one point away from losing to the Inui-Kaidoh pair, and unfortunately for Oishi, things weren't looking up. No matter how many times he tried to get his friend to concentrate, nothing worked, and therefore, he was taking the game into his own hands. Of course, playing near the net for the majority of the match as Inui had suggested, it was difficult for Oishi to save the game on his own. Despite his valiant attempts, he was unable to continue at the pace that Inui and Kaidoh had set, and the game went to the newly established doubles pair. Much to Oishi's disappointment, he tried his best to grin and bear it.

Eiji had become lost in his thoughts, staring blankly onto the court with his racket held loosely in his right hand, as his doubles partner approached him. The acrobatics specialist's focus had not wavered, even with his increasingly angry friend looming over him. Eiji was staring straight past the other boy, or rather, not staring at anything in particular. He'd been like this the past couple days, but it seemed that today, having Oishi standing in front of him for a good 20 minutes made it worse. It took him a while to realize that Oishi had been calling his name for several minutes now, and with the snap of his partner's fingers inches from his face, he jolted out of his dazed state of mind.

"Eh . . . Nani?" Eiji looked directly at his partner now, blinking a couple times before he realized what had happened.

"We lost." Oishi, looking down for a moment, let a soft sigh escape his lips. Returning his gaze to meet his partner's, he frowned ever so slightly.

Eiji stood his ground for a moment, trying to conjure up an excuse or a lie, anything to get Oishi to stop looking at him like that. But, what was he going to say? _'I was too busy staring at your incredibly handsome features to pay attention to the game.'_ ? He didn't think that would go over too well. Even if it did, it more than likely would not work as an excuse for losing. After a short tug-of-war in within his mind, he had decided on the easier way out of the situation.

"Gomen, gomen, Oishi! I'll pay attention next time, nya.." and before Oishi had a chance to respond, Eiji slid to the side and ran off to do a couple laps around the courts. Maybe that would set his mind straight and help him regain his focus. Even if it didn't, at least he wouldn't be staring at his friend like an idiot for the rest of their practice.

It didn't help much that Oishi was still glancing his way with a disappointed look on his face every time he came into sight. Wondering how long his beloved partner would stay angry at him for this, he continued running, while absent mindedly crashing into poles, fences or people on the way. His concentration was so off-centered that he ended up apologizing to one of the poles instead of the person he had bumped into the moment before. Flustered and partially drained, he was relieved when he heard that practice had ended for the day, heading for the locker room to grab his things and catch up to his friend. Maybe he would think of a better way to apologize by the time he got there. Maybe.

Oishi had packed his bags and gathered his belongings by the time Eiji got to the door, and was just heading out.

"Ne, Oishi!" Eiji grabbed his sleeve as he passed, and as his doubles partner turned around, Eiji clasped his hands together. "Wait, wait! Let me walk with you!" He pleaded, bending down slightly to further dramatize his pleading, looking up at his partner. Of course, Oishi couldn't resist the way the younger boy was looking at him. Watching as his adorable friends continued with his pleading, his face began to feel hot, as a faint redness appeared across his cheeks. He quickly turned to look at the nearest wall.

"Alright. Go, get your things, hurry hurry." Oishi urged him, and his friend eagerly complied with his wishes, running to grab his things, and then back to his partner's side, flashing a smile at him before running out the door ahead, signaling for Oishi to follow in a hurried manner.

As they walked along the sidewalk, Eiji repeatedly shot his partner nervous glances. By the time Eiji realized that he was once again unconsciously staring at the older boy, Oishi had already noticed, and had turned his head to face his friend, raising an eyebrow, looking at him worriedly. The younger boy immediately looked away, a blush beginning to creep across his cheeks.

"Gomen.." He muttered under his breath, staring toward the oncoming cars along the road. Oishi just nodded to himself, as if his partner already knew that his apology would be accepted.

Neither boys paying much mind to the direction in which they were heading, they'd already walked a good many blocks from where they'd began their trek. Trying to concentrate, Eiji looked ahead of him, becoming aware of his surroundings as he hadn't been paying any mind to them until now. _What luck!_ he mused, as the direction they were headed was taking them straight to a park, followed by a forest-covered area, which he was sure lead to a direct path to Oishi's house. Although you couldn't really call it much of a park, a grassy area lay out in the open with two benches on either side, and a path splitting directly down the middle into the dense wooded area. Eiji studied it from the distance, and his eyes lit up. This gave him an idea.

He tugged on the sleeve of Oishi's Seigaku jacket to gain the boy's attention, then, cheeks flushing red, he looked to the ground and pointed toward the park that they were headed toward. "Ne, Oishi, isn't this kind of near your place if we go through there?" He asked hopefully.

Oishi directed his view from Eiji to the area he was pointing. Eyeing his surroundings, he then turned back to look at his friend, smiling, and nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of difficult to tell from where we are, but if we cut through there it should be a recognizable area."

With that, Eiji's expression brightened and his pace increased, grabbing onto Oishi's hand and tugging him to the park. Luckily for Eiji, it didn't seem as if anyone else was using the path. He peeked in between the trees. _Looks like it goes pretty far in, hm.. _He thought to himself, and without another minutes' hesitation, he entered the path, dragging his partner with him. Not that Oishi was complaining, he was too busy trying to resist the urge to hold onto Eiji's hand with a firmer grip. Knowing that it would probably shock his friend, he decided against even attempting it. He wasn't ready to tell Eiji how he felt. Not yet. Although, he was curious as to the reason for their rushing in.

It was an awfully dark area, barely any light could be seen through the treetops. He looked around curiously, then down at the muddy path they were trekking through. It had rained earlier that day, and they were headed down what seemed like a never ending shallow hillside. Other than that, it wasn't that horrible. A nice quiet place to collect your thoughts. God knows Oishi had quite a few of them to sort out at the moment.

Eiji had walked a good way in before realizing that he'd grabbed onto his friend's hand instead of his wrist. Unconsciously or not, he immediately withdrew his hand and moved a few steps away. Taking in their surroundings, he'd never noticed such a place before. It wasn't anything special, a bunch of trees with a long path cut down the middle. He examined further, looking from one end to the other. _Maybe this is where couples go to take walks! _He chuckled at the thought, which granted him an odd look from the other boy. Oishi decided to speak up, he was starting to worry. For the first time in a long time, he had no idea what his partner could be thinking. "You've been acting weird lately, Eiji. Is everything alright?"

It took a minute for Eiji to realize that he'd been asked a question. Oishi quickly repeated himself, becoming even more concerned.

"Mou ... Oishi?" He relocated himself so that he was in front of Oishi, a few inches from his face, staring at him with a rather intense gaze that forced the older tennis player to take a step back. Eiji continued, "About the practice match earlier.." He paused to collect his thoughts, not really sure of what to say next. He looked at his doubles partner as innocently as he possibly could. "Forgive me?" He let loose a soft whine, and pouted.

Oishi paused to look at the boy for a moment, taking in the adorable sight he was seeing. It was rare that Eiji would give him this kind of look, unless he was being playful. But there wasn't a bit of playfulness in his tone, it was an oddly serious, almost pleading tone that he rarely heard from the boy. So rarely that he wondered why Eiji was taking this even more serious than he himself was. Eiji's expression began to change, as Oishi had failed to respond yet, he glanced down at his feet and sighed. The silence was driving him mad, but he didn't want to come right out and yell at Oishi to say something. Realizing the tension he was causing between them, Oishi snapped back to reality. The pained expression on Eiji's face was enough to make him want to lean over and kiss the boy until all of his worries and insecurities were washed away.

"Eiji-kun." Oishi chimed softly, placing his index finger beneath Eiji's chin and tilting his head up so that their gaze met once again. "You don't need to apologize twice in one day," He hesitated for a moment, but decided to continue, keeping his hand where it was below his friend's chin as to make sure he was paying attention. "Though, you haven't been acting yourself lately." Once again, he hesitated. He didn't want to say anything that might sound odd to his closest friend. He didn't want to scare him off. Hell, he was probably already wondering why Oishi was holding his head up for him. "You know that if there's anything wrong, you can tell me," He was finally able to say, "right?"

Eiji contemplated this for a moment. It wasn't really so much of a problem he was having. At least, not in a bad way, he didn't think. But what could he possibly tell Oishi? His problem being centered around the fact that he had fallen for his doubles partner, he didn't think that it was something he could or should just come out and say. His friendship as it was, was very important to him, and he didn't want to lose that. If only he hadn't been forced into playing a match with Momoshiro, such an important match too, this probably never would have crossed his mind. Not having his partner there to support him on the court was nerve wracking for him. Even though Momo was a very good player, it didn't help him feel any better. At least, not until the thought of Oishi crossed his mind. Remembering his original doubles partner helped him to focus, it always had. and then seeing him when he'd finally gotten to the tennis courts just made Eiji want to win even more. He wondered if there was anything he couldn't do while Oishi was with him. He sighed mentally to himself, a small grin creeping across his lips.

"Oi.. Eiji?" Oishi looked to his partner with a rather confused look on his face, wondering why he hadn't answered or even blinked for the last five minutes. It took him another try to snap Eiji out of it.

"Ah.. Gomen! Problem? I-I don't really have one, Oishi-kun. I don't know what you're talking about! Are you imagining things now?" Eiji chuckled, wondering if his attempt to hide his feelings had succeeded.

It became apparent in the next moment that they did not, as Oishi backed into the nearest tree, resting against it and supporting himself with his weight leaning on his right foot, he released along, drawn-out sigh, focusing his attention toward the ground, which seemed to become increasingly interesting. Eiji, now focused on his doubles partner, stepped up to him once again. He bent forward, tilting his head so that his eyes came into contact with Oishi's, blinking at him a few times before he lost his balance, and fell into the other boy, knocking both of them over.

"Eiji!" Dazed and confused, Oishi lifted himself up off the ground, wiping the mud and dirt from his hands off to his now dirt-covered pants, pausing a moment before extending a hand out to help his partner up. Eiji, ignoring the gesture, stayed grounded.

"Gomen, gomen." He murmured under his breath, sitting up and supporting himself with his arms behind him, his palms firmly implanted into the muddy ground. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Repeating the words to himself over in his mind, he still hadn't acknowledged Oishi's extended arm and sat there, staring at his knees, a painful expression written across his face.

This whole situation was enough to make Oishi's head spin. It was getting dark, he couldn't see through the top of the trees, and they still had a long way to go to get through this path with seemingly no end in sight. He couldn't be angry at his doubles partner, though, since he'd only been trying to make up for not paying attention to the match that had taken place earlier that day. Or is that all he'd been trying to do? Closing his eyes for a moment, he breathed in heavily, and let out a sigh before he got down onto his hands and knees, forgetting about the mud, and leaning over the seemingly lifeless boy in front of him.

"Eiji-kun." He leaned in between Eiji's parted legs, and pressed his forehead to his partner's to get his attention, looking directly into his eyes as the other boy lifted his head up to meet the gaze. "Get a hold of yourself. Did bubbly-eiji go on some kind of mental vacation?" He joked, chuckling. Though, Eiji wasn't in the mood for jokes. Tears were already swelling up in his eyes, and before he could stop himself, he'd tilted his head to the side, moving forward to capture Oishi's lips with his own. Startled, the older boy didn't know whether to pull back, or accept this warm invitation. Unfortunately for him, his body prevailed over his mind, and he pulled back unconsciously, which was followed by Eiji's reaction to move back as well. The younger partner dug his nails into the dirt path and turned his gaze to the trees, regretting what he'd done, even if it did wash away some of his bottled frustration, he figured he'd probably have scared Oishi off for good this time.

It seemed like forever until one of them finally moved. Oishi got to his feet, and extended his arm down to his partner once again. This time, Eiji accepted and had himself pulled to his feet, nearly losing grip from their mud-covered palms. He shifted his gaze hesitantly to meet Oishi's. Surprisingly, the elder partner didn't seem to be angry. Or if he was, he was hiding it really well. The younger boy was already lost in his eyes once again. Oishi, shifting uncomfortably from the steadily intense gaze fixed onto him, finally turned away.

"We should get going, it's getting late" Oishi pointed out, and Eiji nodded in agreement. They walked the rest of the way in silence. Oishi was trying to understand what exactly had happened. He had no idea Eiji actually felt that way for him, and he didn't understand why he'd been stupid enough to pull away from him. Lost in thought, it took him a moment to realize that Eiji had once again stopped moving. Becoming slightly impatient with his immobile partner, he grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, then grabbing his wrist so as to keep hold of him and make sure he didn't wander again. Oishi decided he'd shut his mind off and just keep walking. The faster they got out of this horrid place, the better.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

As they neared Oishi's house, he reluctantly let go of Eiji's wrist. He'd been enjoying the small bit of physical contact, even if they weren't speaking during the entire period of the walk. "You should head home quickly, It's getting darker out." Oishi pointed towards the black, cloudy sky over head, which they could both now clearly see, away from the mess of trees that had been blocking their vision.

"Yeah." Was Eiji's response, as he turned the opposite direction to begin his trek home.

"Ne, Eiji-kun. Thank you!" Oishi called to his partner behind him, who turned around to look at him with a questioning expression. "For?" He asked curiously, unconsciously tilting his head to the side.

Oishi smiled at him and calmly responded, "For the kiss." followed by a soft chuckle as he turned around to run up to his house and out of sight. Eiji stood there for a moment, staring blankly at the spot Oishi had been standing. When he finally realized what Oishi had said, he exclaimed "Mou.. Oishi! That's not funny!"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

**E****nd Note:** Feel free to tell me if it was absolutely horrible! Eheh


End file.
